Fade Into Black - Shadows of the Night 5

Chapter 28

Hi,

Ok, someone's going to drop a bombshell in this one. A big one.

And once again, I'm curious about what you're thinking about this chapter - and if anyone saw the bombshell coming? You'll know what I mean once you get there..... ;-)

Thank you all for reading!

Lara

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Chapter 28

The word danger blared through my skull, a cacophony of sirens in my head that made it hard to think instead of react alongside basic instincts. Instincts that told me to reach out and take the inviting hand that would drag me down a road that could only lead into total destruction.

I refused to take a step back, or to do the exact opposite. I locked my knees in place, ready to grab the conversation by the horns and yank it back to safer grounds.

"I heard you're hosting an important guest. Who is it this time? Heron?" It was a wild guess and an artless question. I threw it at him like a muzzle that had the capacity to shut him up, prevent him from opening a Pandora's box I wasn't ready to tackle.

"It does not concern you. How did you know that I have a guest?" He answered with the air of someone that was utterly unconcerned about the statement. The dangerous smile was still in place.

He wasn't going to tell me who. Why?

I shrugged. "I have my sources. Now, let's get down to it. I did a reading of the murder scene in Goshanger's office."

"So did the witch I employed," he said.

So did the witch you blackmailed into doing it.

"What did she tell you?" I said.

"She did not get a deeper reading. She merely located you, Anna."

I narrowed my eyes. Either the head vampire just lied to me or ... someone else did. I knew that Sonya Bernards was powerful enough to do a reading, particularly if she spotted me, hiding deeply in the folds and creases of a magical alter reality.

Alexander wasn't stupid. Did he simply not make the connection that she would have been able to get more than just that? That wasn't like him at all. Did he just not want me to know what he knew at this point in time?

"I didn't learn much, but what I can tell you is that magic was involved," I said. "Whoever killed Goshanger could have been a witch, maybe a dark witch or a half-witch."

"You are telling me things I already know, Anna."

"What you don't know is that I'm not positive it was Medici's doing. What you don't know is that the witch that killed Goshanger might not have been alone. Who knew, it might even have been one of your or Goshanger's vamps." There were simply too many missing puzzle pieces to draw any conclusions. Unless...I raised my head, staring into his eyes. "Who did you invite into your territory, Alexander?"

He stared at me, blue circles in motion, tectonic plates shifting somewhere within and around me. "It is none of your concern. However, I can ensure you that my guest did not commit the murders."

I wouldn't be too sure about that.

"I'll help you find whoever murdered these vamps," I said.

He cocked his head. "You will? How ... generous."

"I'm doing it for the sake of the city," I added.